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Ministry of Justice
משרד המשפטים
בניין יעוץ וחקיקה.jpg
Agency overview
Formed 1948
Jurisdiction Government of Israel
Minister responsible
  • Yariv Levin
Agency executive
  • Itamar Donenfeld, Director-General

The Justice Ministry (Hebrew: מִשְׂרָד הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, Misrad HaMishpatim; Arabic: وزارة العدل) is the Israeli government ministry that oversees the Israeli judicial system.

History

The office was established with the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1948. The first minister who headed it was Pinchas Rosen, and at the beginning of his career he had only three employees. The first goal of the office was to create continuity in the activity of the essential legal institutions during the transition period from British rule. In particular, there was a need to fill the positions of judges in the courts, as the British and Arab judges left. The appointment of the first judges of the Supreme Court in its incarnation as an Israeli court was approved by the Provisional Government and the Provisional Council of State in July of that year. In 1948, the Office of the General Custodian was also staffed.

טקס השבעת שופטי בית משפט שלום ומחוזי בישראל
Judicial swearing-in ceremony, 2015

Another goal that stood before the eyes of the heads of the ministry in the early years of the State of Israel was the formation of Israeli laws that would replace the Ottoman and Mandatory legal systems. However, the connection to British law was severed only in 1980, with the enactment of the Law on the Foundations of Law, which repealed a section of the King's Word in the Council on the Land of Israel that stated that where provisions were not established in the local law, the courts would rule according to common law and the laws of honesty. Also, even nowadays, more than 70 years after the establishment of the State of Israel, laws enacted by the mandatory legislature or new versions of such laws (such as the Torts Ordinance, the Evidence Ordinance or the Municipalities Ordinance) remain in force. The last piece of Ottoman legislation, the Majela, was abolished in 1984.

In 1949, the office consisted of three main departments: consulting, legislation and advocacy. The office also included the administrative departments: land registrar, general guardian and general registrar. 506 employees worked in the office. In April 1949, the prosecutor's office and the general registrar moved to Jerusalem.

List of ministers

The Justice Minister (Hebrew: שַׂר הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, Sar HaMishpatim) is the political head of the ministry. Unlike other ministries, there has never been a Deputy Minister.

# Minister Party Government Term start Term end Notes
1 Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party P, 1, 2 14 May 1948 8 October 1951
2 Dov Yosef Mapai 3 8 October 1951 25 June 1952
3 Haim Cohn Not an MK 3 25 June 1952 24 December 1952
Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party 4, 5, 6, 7 24 December 1952 13 February 1956
4 David Ben-Gurion Mapai 7 13 February 1956 28 February 1956 Serving Prime Minister
Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party, Liberal Party 7, 8, 9 28 February 1956 2 November 1961
Dov Yosef Mapai 10, 11, 12 2 November 1961 12 January 1966
5 Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira Mapai 13, 14, 15 12 January 1966 13 June 1972
Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira Mapai 15 12 September 1972 1 November 1973
6 Haim Yosef Zadok Alignment 16, 17 10 March 1974 20 June 1977
7 Menachem Begin Likud 18 20 June 1977 24 October 1977 Serving Prime Minister
8 Shmuel Tamir Democratic Movement for Change 18 20 June 1977 5 August 1980
9 Moshe Nissim Likud 18, 19, 20, 21 13 August 1980 16 April 1986
10 Yitzhak Moda'i Likud 21 16 April 1986 23 July 1986
11 Avraham Sharir Likud 21, 22 30 July 1986 22 December 1988
12 Dan Meridor Likud 23, 24 22 December 1988 13 July 1992
13 David Libai Labor 25, 26 13 July 1992 18 June 1996
14 Yaakov Neeman Not an MK 27 18 June 1996 10 August 1996
15 Benjamin Netanyahu Likud 27 18 June 1996 4 September 1996 Serving Prime Minister
16 Tzachi Hanegbi Likud 27 4 September 1996 6 July 1999
17 Yossi Beilin One Israel 28 6 July 1999 7 March 2001
18 Meir Sheetrit Likud 29 7 March 2001 28 February 2003
19 Tommy Lapid Shinui 30 28 February 2003 4 December 2004
20 Tzipi Livni Likud, Kadima 30 5 December 2004 4 May 2006
21 Haim Ramon Kadima 31 4 May 2006 22 August 2006
Meir Sheetrit Kadima 31 23 August 2006 29 November 2006 acting
Tzipi Livni Kadima 31 29 November 2006 7 February 2007
22 Daniel Friedmann Not an MK 31 7 February 2007 31 March 2009
Yaakov Neeman Not an MK 32 31 March 2009 18 March 2013
Tzipi Livni Hatnuah 33 18 March 2013 4 December 2014
23 Ayelet Shaked The Jewish Home, New Right 34 14 May 2015 2 June 2019
24 Amir Ohana Likud 34 5 June 2019 17 May 2020
25 Avi Nissenkorn Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 17 May 2020 1 January 2021
Benny Gantz Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 1 January 2021 1 April 2021 acting
26 Benny Gantz Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 28 April 2021 13 June 2021
27 Gideon Sa'ar New Hope 36 13 June 2021 29 December 2022
28 Yariv Levin Likud 37 29 December 2022

See also

  • Justice ministry
  • Politics of Israel
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